Traction wheel



L. B. GOBEL.

TRACTION WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED No.8. Iszo.

1,41 1,692. Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

Lewis B. Gebe).

I NV EN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES T13/ACTION WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.r

Patented Apr. 4, 1.922.

Application filed December 8, 1920. Serial No. 429,120.

To all who-m tmcg/ conce/rn:

Be. it knownthat Lnwis B fGonL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Maysville, in the county of Dekalb and State of Missouri, has invented certain new and useful improvements in Traction Wheels, of which the following is a specification, reference being' had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to traction wheels and particularly to an attachment for use in connection with the traction lugslot the wheel. i

An object or the invention is to provide an attachment of this character whereby soil that is disposed between the lugs may be readily removed without the loss or time or labor. i A

Another object of the invention isfto pro-4 vide an attachment of this character which does not require a special make or traction wheel but may be applied to any conven tional form oftraction wheel using traction lugs.

Another object is to provide a device of this character whereby the attachment may be disposed flush with the ground engaging edges of the lugs so that the traction wheel may be used on hard `surfaces-such as con-` crete, asphalt, etc., without danger or the lugs forming indentations, in said surfaces.

Another object is to provide an attachment ofthis character including a plurality of plates adapted to be disposed between the traction lugs and provided withmeans for holdin said plates in engagement'with the rim oi the wheel and manually operable at certain ltimes to remove the `soil that has accumulated lbetween the lugs.

1 A still further object of the invention is to provide an attachment or this character wherein the plates are yieldably'maintained flush with the ground engaging edges or the traction lugsand depressed by contact with the ground'so that when thetraction lugs leave thej ground the plates automatically remove the soil troni between thev lugs.

llith the kabove and other' objects in view, the invention consists in; theimproved construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinaftery more particularly described, fully claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which z- Figure l is a iragmentaryside elevation or a tractor wheel showing the inventiony applied. i

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l,

Figure 3 is a section taken onthe line 3-3 of Figure l,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of another forni of the invention.

Referring to thek drawings, A designates a conventional forni of traction wheel including a rim 5 and spaced traction lugs 6, having the usual supporting flanges 6i". The wheel is also provided with inwardly extending flanges 7. Disposed inwardly of the Wheel in annular spaced relation to the intermediate portion of the ri1n,'is an annular support 8, a plurality or braces 9 being secured at their ends 10 to the inner surface or the iianges and secured at their intermediate portion to the support S, said bracesbeing substantially V-shape so as to properly brace the supportfrom both sides. The support 8 is provided with a plurality of spaced openings 1l which register with similar openings l'provided in the rim 5 of the wheel.

A plurality of shafts i3 are provided, each shaft being slidably" disposed in the registering openings ll and l2, the outer end lav or' each shaft being enlarged while the 'inner end is provided with a socket member An extension 16 projects from the end 1d, the purpose ot which will be hereinafter de scribed. lt will be notedthattlie openings l?. are disposed midway' between the spaced traction higs 6, thejend portion lilof each shaft projecting beyond the periphery or the rim between the lugs.` Y

lin order to permit efficient operation of the traction wheel, there is provided a plurality ot plates l'T which correspond in width to the width or the rim and in length to the distance between the lugs', the lugs serving as guides 'tor the plates. plates are constructed in accordance with the position of the lugs on the wheel so as to permit the plates to move `between the lugs in a direction toward or away from the wheel. The intermediate portion of each plate is provided with an opening 18 adapted yto reL ceive the extension 16 ot'the shaft and by means or which the plate is secured to the shaft. One end ot the plate is provided 'with a har 19 to permitthe plate to be disposed The ends or the parallel` to the rim of the wheel when the ground when the-tractor is used in the field or on soft soil, an expansion spring is pio vided, said spring encircling the inner end of the shaft 13 and having its end Q1 engaged with the socket member 15 and its end 22 Vengaged with the support 8 so as to urge the plate through the medium of the shaft towards and into engagement with the rim 5 of the wheel. When in this position th(` lugs roject in the well known manner so that tliiey will readily penetrate the ground. After the space between the lugs becomes clogged with soil, the same may be readily removed through the medium of a lever The end portion 23 of the lever is e tended at right angles to the main portion of the leverwhile the extremity of the end portion 23 is formed .into a hook 24. This hook is adapted to engage an eye Q5 which is secured to one of the rims 7, one of said eyes being disposed adjacent each of the shafts 13 while only one operating lever is necessary to operate each of the shafts. After the hook 24 is engaged with the eye 25, the main portion of the lever is engaged with the socket member 15 of the adjacent shaft.` WVhen the lever is moved dowir wardly, the shaft will be forced outwardly, thereby moving the plate towards the outer or ground engaging edges of the lugs, and removing the soil from between the lugs. When the lever is disengaged, the spring forces the plate 17 into engagement with the rim 6. A collar 26 is disposed aroimd the portion of the shaft which is normally positioned between the rim 6 and the support S so as to limit the outward movement of the plate and permit the plate to be dis` posed flush with the of the lugs 6.

Then the traction wheel is used on, roads having hard surfaces, or on pavements, the plates 17 are maintained in their extended position, that is with the outer surface of the plates disposed flush with the ground engaging edges of `the traction lugs. This is accomplished through .the medium of a hook 27 wh1ch is substantially V-shaped. the end ground engaging edges i 28 of the hook being pivoted to the lower the hooks being used in connection withV Surface of the plateS while the bill :29 of the hook is adapted to be disposed in an opening 30 provided in the shafts 13, one of f each shaft, the boss 30 serving as fastening means for the hook. By this means, the tendency of the spring to urge the plates towards the rim 1s overcome and at the same time the sharp edges of the lugs are prevented from forming indentations in the surface over which the wheel is traveling.

In Figure 4, another form of invention Yis shown, this form consists in using a retraction spring 31, the end 32 of the spring being secured to an eye 33 carried by the support 8 adjacent the shaft while the end 34 of the sprin is secured to a collar 35. With theuse o this spring the plates 17 are constantly urged outwardly and are disposed flush with the ground engagin edges of the lugs, the collar 26 limiting t e outward movement. With this form of invention, when `the plates 17 come in Contact with the ground, the weight of the wheel overcomes the resistance of the spring 31 and forces the plates towards the rim 6, thereby permitting the lugs to penetrate the ground and obtain a firm hold. lVhe'n the lugs leave the ground, the resistance to the spring being removed, the plates are automatically forced outwardly, thereby removing the soil that may have accumulated between the lugs.

The form` of invention illustrated in Figures l to 3 is particularly adapted for use on traction wheels where the ground is relatively hard and where all resistance to the lugs must be removed. YThis is possible as the plates are maintained at all times closely adjacent the rim of the wheel but may be moved outwardly to clean the lugs or to close the space between them, through the medium of the lever 22. On the other hand, the form of invention disclosed in Figure -i is preferable where the ground is rela- Vtively soft and where it is necessary to oonstantly remove the soil `from between the lugs in order to prevent interference with the etlicient operation of the traction wheel. FromV the foregoing it will` be readily seen that this invent1on provides a novel and simple device that may be readily ab tached to the conventional form of traction wheels asno special form of lugs arenecessary, andthrough the. medium of the novel form ofbraees 7 the support 8 may be read il positioned inwardly of the wheel. I In a dition to this the device may be regulated to permit eflicient operation of the traction wheels on all surfaces both soft, medium and hard, and to elliciently clean the lugs in addition to preventing the lugs from formingindentations inpavements. Allof these features are possessed by an attachment that is simple in construction and operation and compact in form.' What is claimed is:' i

1. A n attachment for traction` wheels comprising spaced traction lugs carried by the wheel, shafts slidably mounted inthe rim of the wheel, a plate carried by each shaft, said plates being disposed between the lugs, means yieldably urging the plates and shaft towards the wheel, a lever adapted to be detachably engaged with the wheel and the shaft of one of the plates to move said plate away from and in spaced relation to the periphery of the wheel7 and means for holding said plate flush with the ground engaging edges of the traction lugs. 2. An attachment for traction wheels comprising spaced traction lugs carried by the wheel7 shafts slidably mounted in the rim of the wheel, a plate carried by each shaft, said plate being movable between the lugs and means yieldably urging the plates toward the ground engaging edges of the luvs.

An attachment 'for traction wheels comprising spaced traction lugs carried by the rim of the wheel, spaced shafts movable through the rim of the wheel between the lugs, plates. secured to the shafts and extending between the lugs, a socket member on the inner end of each shaft, an eye carried by the rim of the wheel and a lever having one end portion engaged with the eye and the socket member of one of the shafts, whereby the plate of the shaft is moved from the rim of the wheel to the ground engaging edges of the lugs.

4. An attachment for traction wheel comprising an annular support carried by the wheel in spaced relation to the inner surface of the rim, a plurality of spaced traction lugs carried by the outer surface of the rim, a plurality of shafts slidable through the support and the rim, platesv LEWIS B. GOBEL. 

